Polar bear cub slips into the icy sea during his hunting lesson

Bearing in mind where polar bears live, you would think they could handle a little bit of ice underfoot.But it's obviously something that needs practice, as this youngster showed when he slipped and fell into the freezing arctic water.As mum was busy trying to teach her cub how to hunt for food this little one showed that keeping a grip in slippery Arctic conditions isn't quite as easy as she makes it look.

Going...: Mother and cub pick over the bones of the whale, as a gull looks on waiting for some scraps. Or some entertainment.

The hungry youngster watched patiently as his mother tried to teach him how to feed off a whale carcass they had found.But the cub struggled to balance on the bones of the dead whale and slipped into the icy water below.

Going....: The little cub slips on the cold wet bones and takes an unscheduled dip. The gull has made his excuses and left.

And the soaking wet cub looked a little shocked as he emerged from his icy plunge, which seems to be a good deal colder than he had anticipated.Wildlife photographer Ken Petch was lucky enough to capture the moment near Svalbard, a group of islands about 700 miles north of Norway.He said: 'The bears' normal food is seal but, being hungry, the pictured bear is scavenging from a whale carcass.'

Gone! The cub hauls himself out of the icy sea with a somewhat abashed expression. Mum looks mortified

'The cub is watching its mum while balancing on the whale vertebrae but loses its footing and falls in getting a very cold shock.''Cubs of this age do not go into the water if they can avoid it as they have not built up an insulating layer of blubber to protect them from the cold.'

Little help here? The sodden cub strains to get out of the bitterly cold water.